


Candy Cane Kiss

by Alette



Series: Winter Warmth, Winter Fluff [1]
Category: B.A.P
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 18:14:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9001291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alette/pseuds/Alette
Summary: Himchan is stressed and Daehyun is childish(Alternatively, peanut butter gets candy out of hair)





	

**Author's Note:**

> First B.A.P fic, after almost 4 years in the fandom!  
> Fluff is not my strong suit, I apologize. Critiques, comments and kudos are always appreciated ^^

“Move those hands, Jongup, you can string popcorn faster than that.”

“Higher, Junhong, hang that tinsel higher! God gave you that long body for a reason.”

“Have you never seen a gingerbread man before in your life, Youngjae? What in living hell is this monstrosity?”

“Yongguk I love you but if you make _another misshapen cookie I swear to God–_ ”

Daehyun just sat back and watched. He was supposed to be cutting out decorations, but this was so much more interesting. It was almost high art, like an orchestral symphony piece, or an opera. The Tragedy of Kim Himchan’s Christmas Party.

The tragic hero was, of course, the titular character, Kim Himchan. At that moment Himchan looked more villain than hero, but it was nearing the third act, so that was expected. Daehyun took another look at his watch. The six of them had been preparing for this party for hours now, and a full-scale meltdown was imminent.

That little twitching vein was already showing on Youngjae’s face, and Junhong took a moment every couple of minutes to take a long, deep breath, but Daehyun still had his money on Himchan exploding first. No human being could withstand the amount of pressure he’d put on himself. Everything had to be perfect. Daehyun wondered if he’d even made the dust mites help clean up. When Himchan got this determined, nothing was impossible.

“Okay, we only have a few hours left,” Himchan said, pacing up and down the living room. He looked like he really needed a drink, or seven. “The food’s all ready. The decorations are almost done. Snacks, pretty much there. We just need to wrap up some last-minute things and everything will be _perfect_.” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Seunghyun-sunbae is going to love this.”

Daehyun cursed Seunghyun-sunbae in the privacy of his head. Lee Seunghyun, Himchan’s most admired senior at work and the cause of all of their misery. The night before, the five of them had been lounging around the living, and Daehyun had expected a quiet week and a good Christmas. And then Himchan had burst in, and forced them all up, declaring he had big news. Every year Kwon Jiyong, the hottest millionaire in town and Lee Seunghyun’s close friend, held a huge Christmas bash at his mansion. This year he’d canceled in favor of going to Bora Bora with his girlfriend.

“Do you know what this means?” Himchan had yelled. “Seunghyun-sunbae is going to be free on Christmas Eve!”

And what _that_ meant was suffering for all six of them. Because Himchan suddenly got the bright idea of throwing a Christmas party. In one day.

It had been kind of fun at first. Yongguk went shopping, while Daehyun called the caterers. Himchan and Youngjae were on the phone the whole day, calling all their contacts, making sure people came. Junhong and Jongup enthusiastically got into decorating, and were surprisingly good at it.

And then time started running out, and Himchan got increasingly stressed. When Himchan got stressed he devolved into a petty, screeching harpy, unable to let even the slightest flaw go. It was hell.

So far, Daehyun had been able to lay low. Usually the first person Himchan snapped at was him, but this time he’d been too busy to do even that. Daehyun had finished the work with the paper decorations at least half an hour ago, but he knew Himchan would get even more stressed if he noticed someone sitting around, even if there was hardly any more work left to do. But now his legs were cramping, so he got up and stretched. Himchan was too busy nagging Yongguk on his (honestly perfectly-shaped) sugar cookies to notice. Daehyun saw his opportunity and grabbed one of the candy canes he’d been eyeing for a while. It was sickly sweet, but after working for so long, Daehyun needed some sugar.

“Jung Daehyun _what_ do you think you’re doing?”

Daehyun jumped a mile in the air. He turned around slowly, the end of the candy still in his mouth, to see Himchan glaring at him. “Those are for the guests,” he said, “not you. Take it out. Now.”

“I’m a guest too,” Daehyun said. He’d given up smoking a long while back, but he was still an expert at keeping things in his mouth and talking. “And come on, it’s not like anyone else can eat it now that it’s been in my mouth.”

“Am I hearing this right?” Himchan approached Daehyun. “You’re going to keep eating it?”

Youngjae was sending frantic signals behind Himchan’s back, but Daehyun ignored them. “Yup,” he said childishly, and pointedly sucked on the candy cane. They’d been working almost nonstop for hours now, and everyone needed a break. Even if that break was to watch Daehyun getting murdered. Himchan needed to blow off some steam too.

“Daehyun this is your final warning,” Himchan said, putting both hands on his hips. He probably thought he looked intimidating, but Daehyun found him cute when he did it.

Daehyun took the cane out of his mouth, said, “I heard ya,” and put it back in. Junhong stopped pretending to be busy with the tinsel and watched with keen interest. Jongup still went on like he hadn’t noticed anything, but Daehyun could tell he was watching too. Yongguk caught on to Daehyun’s intentions and sighed quietly.

“Jung Daehyun you will stop eating right now,” Himchan said sharply.

“Okay, okay,” Daehyun said, but he still had one childish trick left.

He popped the candy cane out of his mouth. And then he stuck it in Himchan’s hair.

Everything froze. Himchan’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened, and he just stayed like that. And in that silent, frozen moment Daehyun got that he might’ve just gone a bit too far.

Himchan screamed and ran upstairs. Daehyun reached out uselessly a second too late. He stared up at the closed door Himchan had slammed behind him, wishing he could just curl up and disappear.

And then he turned back and found four pairs of eyes drilling holes into him.

He laughed nervously. “Well that was a bit excessive,” he said.

“I agree,” Yongguk said solemnly. “Go apologize.”

“Me? I’m the last person he wants to see right now,” Daehyun said. “Yongguk-hyung should go, he…”

He trailed off when he saw Yongguk’s face, which made it evident Yongguk was not going to go. “Just go, Daehyun you asshole,” Youngjae snapped. That was enough. Daehyun knew they were right anyway, so he went off up the stairs down the hallway and to Himchan’s room.

The house was Himchan’s family’s, and after his parents went to live in the countryside and his sister moved in with her boyfriend, he’d invited the five of them to live with him. It was a comfortable arrangement that had worked for years. Yongguk had only moved out recently, after getting his new job, but he still dropped by all the time. Daehyun knew this house better than his own. Sometimes he forgot it wasn’t his.

He walked up to the door, hesitated, and then finally gave a soft knock.

“If that’s you, Jung Daehyun, go fall in a hole,” a voice came through the wood.

“Hyung, I’m sorry,” Daehyun said. He tried to put as much of his sincerity in his voice as he could. “That was stupid and childish and I’m sorry.”

Himchan didn’t say anything. Daehyun pressed his ear against the door and listened intently. He was about to apologize again when he heard something.

A sniffle.

“Hyung, are you okay?” Daehyun asked, concerned. When Himchan didn’t answer, Daehyun hesitantly announced, “I’m coming in,” and slowly opened the door.

Himchan was sitting on the bed, candy cane still attached to his hair. He looked up as Daehyun walked in, wiped his face with a hand. Daehyun hovered uneasily, unsure of what to do. Himchan rarely cried, and Daehyun never had to be the one to comfort him when he did. And now Daehyun was the cause.

He slowly walked over to the bed and sat down next to Himchan. Daehyun thought he’d get shoved away, but Himchan sat still, no longer crying but still sniffling. They sat like that, side-by-side, Himchan’s heavy breathing the only sound in the air.

Finally, Himchan spoke. “I’m sorry,” he said. His words were thick and came out with difficulty. “Sorry, Daehyun-ah.”

He turned to Daehyun and smiled, face still wet with tears. Even through his worry Daehyun realized how absolutely beautiful Himchan could be, and his heart stuttered.

“Why are you apologizing?” he asked. “I’m the idiot who stuck a piece of candy in your hair like a first-grader.” _Damn I_ am _an asshole._

“No, I mean for making you guys work so hard,” Himchan said, and he rubbed his face with both hands. “And generally being a nagging bitch. And now crying like this because you put a candy cane in my hair and I can’t pull it out and I think I have to cut it off…” He trailed off, lip trembling, and then he was crying again.

“Hey, hey, you don’t need to say sorry,” Daehyun said, instinctively putting his arm around Himchan and drawing him close. Himchan let him. “You just got stressed. It’s fine.”

Himchan hiccupped a bit and didn’t say anything. But he pulled in a little closer.

“And I’m sure you don’t need to cut your hair,” Daehyun continued. “The internet probably knows how to get rid of it, no problem.” He leaned back a bit to give Himchan what he hoped was a confident, encouraging smile. Himchan had cut his hair just a few weeks back, and he’d been super pleased with the result. If he had to go again just because of Daehyun’s idiocy, Daehyun didn’t think he’d ever forgive himself.

“Okay,” Himchan said, rubbing his face again. He was looking at Daehyun and Daehyun expected him to say something more, but he didn’t. Daehyun thought he should say something back, but he couldn’t. There was something so perfectly sweet and innocent in the way Himchan was looking at him, tear-streaked face and all, that suddenly made it difficult to talk.

Daehyun was aware of the silence running too long, so he cleared his throat awkwardly and said, “Okay.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and did a quick search. The first result promised a quick and easy solution, so he tapped on it, and waited for the page to load.

It took a while, and Daehyun found his eyes drifting back to Himchan. He was staring at the phone screen, dark eyes glowing with the light. There was a redness in his cheeks and nose, and his cheeks were still wet. He’d pushed his dark hair back and away from his forehead, and his lower lip stuck out a little as he concentrated on the phone screen. He looked beautiful, just like that.

Not for the first time Daehyun thought about how Himchan could look so effortlessly stunning, whether he realized or not. Crying Himchan was beautiful, as was annoyed Himchan, and eating Himchan, studying Himchan, busy Himchan, all of them. But Daehyun’s favorite of them all would forever be laughing Himchan.

Just a week ago, when they’d gone to a café Youngjae wanted to check out, and Jongup had said something off-beat and unexpected like he always did. Daehyun could remember that moment perfectly. Himchan had burst out laughing before any of them, bending over first, and then throwing his head back. He had a big, clear laugh, one that carried over the air no matter where he was. Daehyun liked it. He liked how Himchan never tried to swallow it down, or cover his face with a hand. That would’ve been a shame. Himchan’s laugh ate up his features, closed his dark eyes and spread over every corner of his face. It was beautiful. It made him even more beautiful.

“Daehyun, are you okay?”

The sound of Himchan’s voice jerked Daehyun back to the present. That was another thing about Himchan. He was the one who’d just been crying, face still pink and wet, and now he was asking if Daehyun was okay.

“I’m fine,” Daehyun answered, as if it was true. He turned his attention away from Himchan’s face and back to the phone screen. “Okay. Let’s see… wide-toothed comb… and what the hell, peanut butter?”

“Smooth peanut butter,” Himchan said, leaning in closer. “There’s some in the kitchen.”

Daehyun got the hint, but he didn’t want to get up. He still had his arm around Himchan, holding their bodies together. Himchan didn’t seem to have realized. But if Daehyun moved, then Himchan would, and this moment would be over.

“Yeah, I’ll get it,” Daehyun said. “In a second.”

Himchan laughed and shoved against him lightly. “You want me to stay with your spit-covered candy in my hair?”

“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds gross,” Daehyun said, grinning. “But, I mean, the peanut butter’s not going anywhere.”

“Yeah, and neither is the candy cane _in my hair_ ,” Himchan said, with another shove, but this one more forceful. “Just go, Daehyun.”

“Okay, fine,” Daehyun said, still not making any attempt to move. “But you owe me.”

“I owe you? After you stuck a candy cane in my hair?” Himchan snorted in disbelief. “I can’t believe someone like you even exists.” But he smiled as he said it, not the wide smile that swallowed up all his features, but still beautiful.

Daehyun slowly pulled his arm off Himchan, and stood up. Himchan sat where he was and looked up expectantly, still smiling.

“I’ll be back,” Daehyun said, and forced himself out of the room.

His heart felt oddly tight in his chest as he went down the stairs, and the worst thing was, this wasn’t even the first time. It was getting more and more serious every time, and Daehyun found it was getting too much to ignore.

The others looked at him as he reached the foot of the stairs, and Daehyun said, “Everything’s fine,” before going into the kitchen. He grabbed the peanut butter from the cupboard, as well as a big spoon. He climbed the stairs again, ignoring the eyes on his back, and reentered Himchan’s room without a knock.

“This is such a waste of peanut butter,” Daehyun said, handing the jar over. Himchan gave him a light smack on the arm.

“If it saves my hair, nothing is a waste,” he said, unscrewing the lid. He spooned out a large quantity and walked over to the mirror, carefully applying it to his hair.

Daehyun stood where he was and shifted awkwardly. “Well, I guess I’ll go then…”

“Oh no you won’t,” Himchan said, snapping his head around. “You are staying here until this candy cane comes off. If the peanut butter doesn’t work, then I’m using your blood.”

He said it dead serious, but Daehyun still laughed. He walked over to Himchan and started helping him apply the peanut butter. Afterwards, he helped pull out the candy cane, which came off without tearing any hair. Himchan almost cried again, but this time in relief.

“See? No Jung blood needed,” Daehyun said happily, waving the candy cane in satisfaction. “The internet knows everything.”

“Oh, thank god,” Himchan said, for the twelve thousandth time. “My hair is peanut buttery, but at least the candy is gone. Thank god.”

“And me,” Daehyun added. “Thank me too.”

“Thank you, Dae,” Himchan said genuinely.

Daehyun smiled, satisfied. But Himchan wasn’t done. Without any warning, he rushed over to Daehyun and threw his arms around his waist, hugging him close.

“Hyung…” Daehyun started, taken aback, but then Himchan ended any words and any thought processes by lifting his head and kissing Daehyun on the lips.

It was hardly more than a peck, just a light touch. Every switch in Daehyun’s brain flicked off. He froze where he was, unable to form any words. Did that just happen? Did Kim Himchan, Daehyun’s close hyung of many years and the guy he might have secretly been crushing on for weeks now, just kiss him?

Himchan pulled away, a coy smile on his lips. “I have to wash my hair now,” he said, still smiling. “You should go downstairs, the others are probably wondering where you are.”

A word finally came out of Daehyun’s mouth. “Huh?”

“Go,” Himchan said, smiling wider, and giving Daehyun a gentle push towards the door. “Go on, get out.”

Daehyun let himself be pushed out the door, and then he turned around, mouth open and ready to ask if he had imagined everything that had happened in the last minute. He got one glance at Himchan’s grin, and then the door closed in his face.

“What’s up with you?” Youngjae asked as Daehyun descended the stairs, still in a daze.

“Huh? What? I’m fine,” Daehyun said, and it might have been the biggest lie he’d told in his life, including the time he’d told his professor he was getting treatment for a possibly fatal condition, which is why he missed all those classes (they were morning classes, and he slept through all of them).

“And him?” Youngjae asked. “He didn’t whoop your ass?”

“Uh, no,” Daehyun said. “We got the candy cane out of his hair.”

Youngjae didn’t bother trying to hide his disappointment, and went back to decorating gingerbread men. The others, getting that the story was over, went back to work, Yongguk first giving Daehyun a proud squeeze on his shoulder. Daehyun barely registered it. His brain was still overloaded, his body working on autopilot. He was helping Junhong hang ornaments on the tree when Himchan finally descended, towel around his shoulders, hair wet, and smelling like apricots.

“Thanks for working so hard, everyone,” he said, with something of a sheepish grin. “And I guess I owe you all an apology. I was way too much.”

“Damn right you were,” Youngjae was already saying, but Yongguk overrode him with, “It’s alright. Let’s just finish preparing.”

Himchan beamed, and then turned to Daehyun. “Daehyun-ah, come help me with these cookies.”

Daehyun thought his heart would jump out of his mouth, he could feel it right in his throat. He walked over to the table where Himchan was arranging the cookies, and sat down beside him. He was quietly plating up the finished cookies, trying very hard to ignore the thudding in his chest, when he suddenly felt something touch his hand underneath the table.

Himchan’s fingers. Daehyun almost froze up again, but something in his brain still worked, and he unclenched his hand. And slowly he felt Himchan’s fingers thread between his, and interlock their hands together.

He sneaked a glance, but Himchan wasn’t looking at him. He was keeping his eyes fixed on the plate, blinking very rapidly. And in his perfect white cheeks, blush bloomed like roses.

Daehyun grinned to himself and turned his attention back to his job. And as he rubbed his thumb against the back of Himchan’s hand, he decided maybe this Christmas wasn’t so bad after all.

 

The party went perfectly. Himchan even had to kick a busy couple out of the kitchen, which, according to Junhong, was the mark of a great party. The guests left after 1 AM, Lee Seunghyun among the last of them. He clapped Himchan on the back and said he had thrown the greatest Christmas Eve party ever. Of course, he was pretty drunk by that time, barely standing up with the aid of another senior, but he still said it.

Himchan thanked them all, one by one, and let them share out the few leftovers. And then he pulled Daehyun into the kitchen, whispered “Thank you,” with his cheeks afire, and kissed him breathless.


End file.
